Frivolous thread: Guitars

[David Garner]

As a true Minnesotan, had to watch "Purple Rain" Sat night.

The guy was a showman! Watch it to the end.

https://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=6SFNW5F8K9Y

A shortened clip with just Prince's solo:

https://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=7INsVaR-S-w

Something I read about his solo from another site:

"The best part of this guitar solo is the back story. A few weeks before, Rolling Stone released their list of top 100 guitarists of all time. Prince didn't even rank.

...'Is there any proof that Prince's molten-hot solo on that hall of fame induction night's all-star jam performance of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" had anything to do with him being snubbed from that list? No. But come on now, this is Prince. He doesn't just show up for no reason. Until it came time to destroy the stage with that solo, most people didn't even know Prince was onstage at all. On this night, Prince was on a mission.'

Which makes it all the more epic at the end when he threw his guitar into the crowd and just walked off."

More like strutted off!  The guy was amazing.

Back in the early 90s, my wife and I were down in Mpls and hung out at 1st Avenue late into the night because some guys were messing around with equipment and instruments on the stage. Prince was known to sometimes try out material there, and we thought that might be what they were going to do. But, alas, not that night.  Had to wait for the 2007 Super Bowl Half-time show. 

He's one of my all time favorites, not only as a guitar player, but as a musician and performer.  My band is playing the Hard Rock Cafe in Atlanta soon, and we're going to close with Purple Rain in his honor.

[David Garner]

If any of you use guitars with humbuckers, and the humbuckers are wax potted, and you love vintage tones, try a set of unpotted pickups.  I sold a set of Fralin pickups I had in one of my Strats and used the funds from the sale to upgrade my Les Paul.  I initially was going to get a new set of Seymour Duncan Seth Lovers, but I found a guy selling a set of used Wolfetone Dr. Vintage pickups for less than the cost of the new Seths so I went with those.  Wolfe has a fantastic reputation, and his pickups lived up to it.

The difference isn't huge, but it is significant.  They still sound like vintage pickups.  I had 57 Classics in there before, and the tone of the Dr. Vs is close to that.  But there is a slight microphonic chirp to the notes and a sweet bloom that just sings when you hold a note.  I use them primarily through one of two amplifiers, a Ceriatone Marshall 18 Watt clone and a Deluxe Reverb.  Through the Deluxe, they are sweet when clean and they get a perfect blues overdrive when you push it a little.  The 18 Watt sounds like 70s rock.  They nail Dickey Betts' Goldie tone through it, and they clean up nicely if you just twist the volume knob back a few notches.  With the 18 Watt, they do controlled feedback better than anything I've used.

These are not for 80s or 90s metal/rock/grunge.  They'll do that if you stack enough pedals or have enough amp, but they aren't suited for it.  They don't squeal at all at 70s rock levels -- up to AC/DC or even harder 80s rock like Guns n Roses.  But they would be unusable with a true high gain amp, I think.  What they are perfect for is rock and blues, especially 60s and 70s rock and blues.  ZZ Top, Black Crowes, AC/DC, Clapton's Beano tone, Allman Brothers, Mike Bloomfield -- it's all there.  I highly recommend trying a set.

[SomeoneWrites]

If any of you use guitars with humbuckers, and the humbuckers are wax potted, and you love vintage tones, try a set of unpotted pickups.  I sold a set of Fralin pickups I had in one of my Strats and used the funds from the sale to upgrade my Les Paul.  I initially was going to get a new set of Seymour Duncan Seth Lovers, but I found a guy selling a set of used Wolfetone Dr. Vintage pickups for less than the cost of the new Seths so I went with those.  Wolfe has a fantastic reputation, and his pickups lived up to it.

The difference isn't huge, but it is significant.  They still sound like vintage pickups.  I had 57 Classics in there before, and the tone of the Dr. Vs is close to that.  But there is a slight microphonic chirp to the notes and a sweet bloom that just sings when you hold a note.  I use them primarily through one of two amplifiers, a Ceriatone Marshall 18 Watt clone and a Deluxe Reverb.  Through the Deluxe, they are sweet when clean and they get a perfect blues overdrive when you push it a little.  The 18 Watt sounds like 70s rock.  They nail Dickey Betts' Goldie tone through it, and they clean up nicely if you just twist the volume knob back a few notches.  With the 18 Watt, they do controlled feedback better than anything I've used.

These are not for 80s or 90s metal/rock/grunge.  They'll do that if you stack enough pedals or have enough amp, but they aren't suited for it.  They don't squeal at all at 70s rock levels -- up to AC/DC or even harder 80s rock like Guns n Roses.  But they would be unusable with a true high gain amp, I think.  What they are perfect for is rock and blues, especially 60s and 70s rock and blues.  ZZ Top, Black Crowes, AC/DC, Clapton's Beano tone, Allman Brothers, Mike Bloomfield -- it's all there.  I highly recommend trying a set.

This is some wonderful information.  Thank you immensely. 

[David Garner]

This is some wonderful information.  Thank you immensely.

You are most welcome.  This isn't me, but this demo is one of the reasons I took the chance on the pickups.  It gives a pretty good idea what they sound like through a Deluxe Reverb (his is a Deluxe clone), but the Marshall tone is what floors me.  It's just amazing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFKpegXbJLs

[exegete77]

Here are a couple good pickers, one flattop picking, the other finger style

Wayne Henderson and Kruger Brothers

Wayne Henderson built his guitar and also for many top names in the guitar world.